Save jobs.. give hope
Rishi Sunak has £1.8billion extra in the Treasury coffers.
This is because supermarkets and stores have done the right thing and repaid tax breaks received during the pandemic.
Now it is time for the Chancellor to do the right thing too.
The money must be used to support those hit hardest by the lockdown. This includes pubs, bars and restaurants in Tier 3 who may struggle to survive beyond Christmas.
A rescue fund for hospitality and tourism would save jobs, keep venues open and provide a much-needed boost to the high street.
The Chancellor could also do more for the estimated three million who have been denied access to the furlough scheme.
He has been blind to the holes in the Covid safety net which has left freelancers, the newly self-employed, some small businesses and those on parental leave without any support.
Now he has the money in the bank, there is no excuse for leaving businesses and individuals on the brink.
Deadly record
The UK yesterday became the first European country to record more than 60,000 Covid deaths.
The roll out of a vaccine next week offers hope the number will not rise much higher.
But that will be small comfort to those who have lost friends, family and loved ones.
Boris Johnson should be held to account for the unenviable record of the highest death toll and the deepest recession of any major European country.
The truth is that the Government cost lives and livelihoods by being too slow to go into lockdown, too slow to provide kit and testing and too slow to protect people in care homes.
A note of joy
Britain’s biggest jackpot is up for grabs in tomorrow’s EuroMillions draw.
The winner will be richer than Sir Tom Jones, all four members of Little Mix and Adele.
Which is something to sing about...
